April is one of our busiest times of year at the College of Business for students, faculty and staff. From Ph.D. students showcasing their research at the Mittelstaedt & Gentry Doctoral Symposium to undergraduate entrepreneurs competing to win a Husker Hustle Scholarship and Clifton Builders connecting to meet the newest cohort selected this spring, Hawks Hall is a flurry with activities and achievements.

I welcomed more than 600 prospective students and their parents at our Admitted Student Day held in Hawks Hall, March 23. They learned about the college, our 11 majors and distinctive programs and services, and spent some time in Hawks Hall and other areas of the university. We are excited to have these future Huskers join us in the fall.

We recently learned our Actuarial Science program ranked No. 2 in research productivity in the North American Actuarial Science Rankings. One of the first rankings of its kind, our faculty and students created the UNL Global Research Rankings database right here at Nebraska to generate this ranking for universities around the world. Selected as one of the first Centers of Actuarial Excellence (one of 20) and a University Earned Credit school (one of nine) in the U.S., the Actuarial Science program at Nebraska continues to be one of the world’s best.

The Actuarial Science program is also a great example of what can be accomplished through our long history of collaborating with leaders in the industry. In this newsletter, we feature two partnerships that help us prepare students to lead the future of business:

• Through their continued generosity, FORVIS established the FORVIS Chair of Accountancy, created to invest in our faculty and stay competitive with our Big Ten peers.
• Started through the support of industry leaders, our Center for Sales Excellence has been named a Top University for Professional Sales Education ever since it was established in 2015. Students from across campus can learn how to sell themselves and their ideas to employers and enhance their communication skills by pitching to real clients while earning an undergraduate certificate in sales excellence.

The alumni story in this newsletter features Lane Knott, '21 & '22, who received the Elijah Watt Sells Award for his high scores on the Certified Public Accountant exam. Lane is a true testament of being prepared to lead the future, as only 0.07% of the 67,000 candidates who took the CPA exam in 2022 earned this award. Taking the exam while in our Master of Professional Accountancy program, he joins an elite group of Husker alumni with this achievement, including Caleb Krohn (2020), Douglas Coons (2018) and Ashley (Quiring) McDowell (2018).

We hope Lane and all of you know that at Nebraska, Once a Husker, Always a Husker! Help us share your success story by emailing sirwin@unl.edu with the subject line: MY SUCCESS STORY.

Together, we are Nebraska Business!

Dean Kathy Farrell